JAZZ AT THE SYMPHONY TEACHER’S GUIDE
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YOUNG PEOPLE’S CONCERT
The Oakland East Bay Symphony’s Jazz at the Symphony Teacher’s Guide is designed to enrich students’ Young People’s Concert experience. A series of activities for students in the elementary grades are provided, each focusing on different aspects of the Jazz at the Symphony performance. Students will have an opportunity to listen to jazz music, and complete hands-on activities to learn about call-and-response and improvisation. They will also make a memory book, write poems and create jazz art.
Materials:
Chart paper
Marker
Several jazz CDs or cassettes
Internet access
Art supplies
Teacher Note: To prepare for these activities, you will need to have access to jazz CDs or tapes. You may bring in jazz CDs or cassettes from home or your local library. If these options are unavailable, jazz music samples may also be found on the PBS Ken Burn’s Jazz website at http://www.pbs.org/jazz/. A selection by Duke Ellington might be a good choice for these activities, as students will be listening to Duke Ellington’s work when they attend the Young People’s Concert.
The purpose of this lesson is for students to experience jazz and answer the question, “What is jazz?”
1. Tell students that you are going to play a piece of music for them to listen to. Explain to students that after they listen to the piece, they are going to call out words that describe the music. Tell students to make sure to include words that describe how the music makes them feel.
2. As students call out words, record their responses on the board or on a piece of chart paper. You may choose to play another musical piece and continue the same process.
3. After you have finished recording all of the students’ responses, write the word, “JAZZ” across the top of the paper. Explain that the music they just listened to is known as jazz.
4. Ask students to share what they know about jazz. This may include information as well as personal experiences. Record the information on a KWL chart.
5. Share the following key points about jazz with your students:
6. Add any new information to the KWL chart. Continue to add information to the chart as you complete activities and attend the performance.
The purpose of this activity is for students to develop an understanding of the role that call-and-response plays in the African-American culture and how it relates to jazz.
1. Explain to students that call-and-response is an important element of jazz that has its roots in spiritual and slave songs. Explain that spirituals were group expressions used to convey religious convictions. Spirituals were used as a comforter against a harsh existence, to teach, to express a yearning for freedom and to plan escapes from slavery.
2. Copy the song lyrics below on a piece of paper. This may be a piece of small paper if you are going to be the only one reading the lyrics or a piece of chart paper if you want to share the lyrics with the entire class.
An’ I couldn’t hear nobody
pray.
O Lord!
Couldn’t hear nobody pray,
O-way down yonder
By myself,
I couldn’t hear nobody pray,
In the valley,
Couldn’t hear nobody pray,
On my knees,
Couldn’t hear nobody pray,
With my burden,
Couldn’t hear nobody pray,
An’ my Savior,
Couldn’t hear nobody pray.
O Lord!
I couldn’t hear nobody pray,
O Lord!
Couldn’t hear nobody pray.
O-way down yonder
By myself,
I couldn’t hear nobody pray.
Chilly waters,
Couldn’t hear nobody pray,
In the Jordan,
Couldn’t hear nobody pray,
Crossing over,
Couldn’t hear nobody pray.
Into Canaan,
Couldn’t hear nobody pray.
O Lord!
I couldn’t hear nobody pray,
O Lord!
Couldn’t hear nobody pray.
O-way down yonder
By myself,
I couldn’t hear nobody pray.
Hallejuh!
Couldn’t hear nobody pray,
Troubles over,
Couldn’t hear nobody pray,
In the Kingdom,
Couldn’t hear nobody pray,
With my Jesus,
Couldn’t hear nobody pray.
O Lord!
I couldn’t hear nobody pray,
O Lord!
Couldn’t hear nobody pray.
O-way down yonder
By myself,
I couldn’t hear nobody pray.
This song, or parts of this song, can be heard on these websites:
PBS American Experience website
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/singers/sfeature/songs_couldnt_l.html
Sam McClain
Authentic History website
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/antebellum/AA_Spiritual_Couldnt_Hear_Nobody_Pray.html
Tuskegee Institute Choir
Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000002NHD/102-5994362-5880156?v=glance
The Fairfield Five
3. Have students gather on the floor in a circle. Read, or sing, the part of the caller and have the class answer the response line, “Couldn’t hear nobody pray,” when you point to them. After finishing the song, discuss how this song was probably more of a signal song than a spiritual song. Ask students to think about what lines from the song would lead them to believe that it was a signal song. (The line “Couldn’t hear nobody pray” might suggest that it was a signal song because when an escaping slave got far enough away that they could no longer hear the singing, he or she knew that the chances of a successful escape were greater.)
4. Tell students that they are going to create a call-and-response pattern of their own. Ask students to stand up in the circle and take turns creating a rhythmic pattern. Explain to students that they can use hand clapping, foot stomping, finger snapping, etc. to create this pattern. Ask the rest of the class to respond by repeating the pattern. After completing a number of patterns, discuss how the spiritual and the patterns they created relate to jazz music. (In the activities the leader sang or tapped out a line and the listeners repeated after them. This is referred to as call-and-response. In jazz an instrument will play something and another instrument will answer by playing back.)
Teacher Note: Older students might want to try taking the pattern that the caller started with and expanding on it in their response. This would give students an idea of what jazz musicians do when they improvise.
The purpose of this activity is for students to experience improvisation and how it relates to jazz.
1. Have students stand in a circle. Tell students that they are going to create an improvisational story. Explain that you are going to begin the story and then touch a person on the shoulder and that whomever you touch is going to continue with the story, picking up where the last person left off, and making it up as they go. Explain that the story is going to continue around the circle until everyone has had a chance to add to the story. Tell students to keep in mind that every story has a beginning, middle and an end and that they should consider that as the story goes around the circle. In other words, students should be aware of the fact that when they are half way around the circle, they have also reached the middle of the story and that when the story is headed back toward the place in the circle where the story began that they will be coming to the end of the story.
2. You may choose your own beginning for the story or use the following story starter: One bright and sunny day Ms /Mr. /Mrs. INSERT YOUR NAME…’s class was on the way to the Young People’s Concert. The kids were excited to be leaving the school and everyone was smiling and laughing when all of a sudden… At this point, tap the student standing to your left on the shoulder and have that person continue the story. Continue in this same manner, tapping the student standing next to the student who is telling the story. When you tap the next person in the circle, the person who is talking immediately stops talking and the next person picks up the story where that person left off.
4. After the story ends, relate the activity to jazz. Discuss how improvisation is an important element in jazz and is a way for musicians to express themselves through music. Explain that when jazz musicians improvise, they are making up music as they go along, and that, much like the story they told, there is a beginning, middle and end when a musician is improvising.
Hear the Music
The purpose of this activity is to expose students to jazz music and to begin to understand what to listen for in a jazz performance.
During the time leading up to the performance, take some time to listen to jazz. Pass out and review the Bring on the Jazz Handout included in this lesson. Play selections from a jazz CD for the students. After listening to the selected pieces, engage students in a conversation about the music. Ask students what they liked about the piece and ask them to share if they heard anything that was mentioned in the handout. Teacher Note: With younger students you might simply have them listen to jazz and talk about it after. They might also free draw as they listen to the music and share their pictures after they finish listening. Another possibility is to choose one or two things from the Bring on the Jazz handout to listen for, or ask them to identify instruments that they heard in the piece. This Online Jazz Appreciation website contains examples of jazz instruments and features the instruments in audio clips. http://www.ccsn.nevada.edu/finearts/music/wherry/jazz/syllabus/instrument.html
Activity Five
The purpose of this activity is for students to learn about Duke Ellington.
Several of the selections that the students will hear at the concert were composed by Duke Ellington. Before going to the concert, students might benefit from visiting the Jazz Class section of the Smithsonian Jazz website. This website may be found at http://www.smithsonianjazz.org/class/jc_start.asp. Students may want to visit the engaging interactive to learn about Duke Ellington. This interactive may be found by clicking on the blue underlined “Duke Ellington’s interactive class” text found under the “Welcome” section. Teacher Note: This interactive could be completed as a whole class activity with students who are unable to read the text. For a challenge, older students might want to try the “Duke’s Match Game” that is found under the “Jazz Classes” heading.
The purpose of this activity is to introduce the students to the musicians who will be performing at the Jazz at the Symphony concert.
Share the following information about the artists who will be performing at the Jazz at the Symphony concert:
Keith Doelling is a 15 year old, 10th grader who currently attends College Preparatory School in Oakland. He has studied the double bass for five years under the tutelage of Michel Taddei of the Crowden Music Center. In addition to studying the double bass, Keith also studies piano with Chip Brimhall and music composition with Arkadi Serper. His compositions have won national acclaim and have been performed by the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, the CPS Chamber Orchestra and the The Crowden Music School. An article in the SF Chronicle has described Keith as one of the Bay Area’s most promising young musicians.
Keith’s musicianship has been widely recognized. He was a finalist in the SF Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition in 2004 and a soloist for Chichester Psalms for the Santa Rosa Symphony at the age of 11. His virtuoso talent has been widely acknowledged by international double bass artists such as Gary Karr, Diane Gannett and John Clayton. Keith has recently returned from a tour of Europe with the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra where he serves as the Assistant Principal bassist.
Zenas Hsu was born in 1991. He began violin at the age of five and is currently studying with Wei He and Camilla Wicks at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Zenas will attend the 9th grade in Lynbrook High School in San Jose, California this fall.
Zenas has been a winner of many competitions. This year, in addition to the Oakland East Bay Symphony’s 9th Annual Young Artist Competition, he has also won the 2004 Pacific Musical Society Violin Competition, the Contra Costa Strings Competition including their Turner award for exceptional performance, the 2004 Nueva Competition, the Prometheus Symphony Competition, including a performance with the Prometheus Symphony, and the 2004 CMTANC (Chinese Music Teachers’ Association of Northern California) Violin Competition.
Jeremy Cohen is a faculty member of the Henry Mancini Institute at UCLA and has taught with the Stanford Jazz Workshop for six years. He is a long-time resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, where he lives and makes music with his two sons.
His electrifying recorded and live performances of jazz violin have earned him accolades across the country. As a soloist, Jeremy Cohen has performed with numerous symphony orchestras including the Virginia Symphony, California Symphony, Los Angeles Modern String Orchestra, the Monterey Bay Symphony, and the Reno Philharmonic.
As a recording musician, his credits include numerous motion picture and television soundtracks, including "The Dukes of Hazard," and Jane Fonda's "Dollmaker" & studio orchestra concertmaster on recordings with Linda Rondstadt, Cleo Laine, Ray Charles, Howard Keel and Aaron Neville. He appears in Carlos Santana's two most recent recordings and has recorded on many occasions at George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch, including "Star Wars" with John Williams.
Paul Hanson is a Bay Area musician and composer who is rapidly gaining international recognition for his unique bassoon playing. His repertoire incorporates aspects of jazz, funk, world music, classical and electronic music.
He has mastered the bassoon using many different playing techniques not usually associated with this classical instrument.
From performances in small chamber music settings to outdoor festival concerts for thousands, Paul Hanson is redefining the perception of what the bassoon can do.
You may choose to watch the streaming video of part of their SmileFest 2004 performance at www.abstractlogix.com. Click the "Watch the Video" link underneath the title Paul Hanson, Jonas Hellborg and Jeff Sipe.
Post-Viewing Activities
Activity One
Memory Book
The purpose of this activity is to help students reflect upon and capture their experiences at the Jazz At The Symphony concert.
1. Tell the students that they are going to create a memory book called “My Day at the Oakland East Bay Symphony.”
2. Provide students with the following templates to use in creating a memory book called “My Day at the Oakland East Bay Symphony.”
Activity Two
Jazz Poetry
The purpose of this activity is for students to write a poem that portrays images of jazz.
OPTION ONE
1. Share the poems below with the class. Ask students to write a poem based on their Jazz At The Symphony experience.
THE JAZZ MAGICIAN
He turned his
saxophone
into a hat of satin
and pulled
a silky rabbit
out of every note.
Charles Ghigna
MILES DAVIS
On stage
in a spotlight
of smoke
a cool, blue
question mark
of a man
blows ashes
into answers.
Charles Ghigna
These poems may be found on Charles Ghigna’s website. This website contains excellent information on using poetry in the classroom. http://www.charlesghigna.com/classroom.html
Jazz
Jazz the ritz
And the glamour,
The razzmatazz.
The sounds that one hears
Takes you to another realm,
The tones
The bass, trumpet and drums
Each has a sound
Very much to one’s
Ear to please.
Pleasure of jazz
Razzmatazz
Jazz Jazz Jazz.
Sally Davis
http://www.poemhunter.com/p/m/poem.asp?poem=25196
Greens
Lid's
on, steam's risin':
collard greens, Lord, bubblin' JAZZ!
That's appetizin'.
James A. Emanuel
http://www.poemhunter.com/p/m/poem.asp?poem=102858
I’m A Jazz Singer, She Replied
He
dug what she said:
bright jellies, smooth marmalade
spread on warm brown bread.
"Jazz" from drowsy lips
orchids lift to honeybees
floating on long sips.
"Jazz": quick fingerpops
pancake on a griddle-top
of memories. Stop.
"Jazz": mysterious
as nutmeg, missing fingers,
gold, Less serious.
"Jazz": cool bannister.
Don't need no stair.
Ways
to climb
when the sax is there.
James A. Emanuel
http://www.poemhunter.com/p/m/poem.asp?poem=25196
2. Involve students in a discussion about the images and sounds and feelings created in the poems.
3. Tell students to refer back to their memory book for words and ideas for their poems.
4. After students have finished their poems you may choose to bind the work into a class book.
OPTION TWO
1. In this option, students will visit the PBS Ken Burn’s Jazz website http://www.pbs.org/jazz/ and explore the different sections of the site to learn about jazz. Tell students to record artists’ names, facts, song titles and lyrics, and use this information to create a poem mirroring the style of Ray Rivera’s “Jazz.”
JAZZ
Jazz!
Blue Monk Played by Thelonious Monk, Jazz! Lady Day Singing
'Bout her "Lover Man" Jazz! Stan Getz and the Girl from Ipanema, Hey
dig
Jackie Williams, Mr. Cool himself beatin' time on "Caravan" Jazz!
Hank
Jones, piano playing is such a delight, have you heard Horace Silver
playing "Song for my Father" or Billy Taylor play "Ray's
Tune" as only he can. Jazz! Lester Young leaps in with his cool, cool
sound. Jazz! Ella sings 'bout the moon, while Dakota Staton tells you of the
late, late show. Jazz! Count Basie is down for the count. Cause Joe Williams
has the blues. Jazz! I've got a hunch that's John Bunch on that Edgar Samson
tune. Jazz! Have you taken a trip on route 66, with Nat King Cole 'cause if you
haven't Duke Ellington will take you for a ride on the A Train. Jazz! Major
Holly, Slam Stewart, Milt Hinton, Richard Davis, Ray Brown, Red Mitchele - Can
you picture them all playin' together, Jazz! Feet tapping to the drum beat of
Papa Jo Jones, Ray Mosca, Cozy Cole, Percy Brice, Art Blakely, Buddy Rich,
Louie Belson, Max Roach. The beat goes on and on. Jazz! The guitar of Gene Bertoncini,
on a soulful Bossa Nova, Kenny Burrell, Playin' the Blues, Wes doing it his
way, the rhythm of Freddy Green. Jazz! Paul Desmond takin'five while Yard Bird
Charlie Parker let's you know that now's the time for jazz. There are so many
past and present who have given to this great American art from we call Jazz.
Ray Rivera
http://www.poemhunter.com/p/m/poem.asp?poem=24739
OPTION THREE
1. Share Betty Swain Wyeth’s poem “Black Man Walking” with your class. After reading the poem, play some jazz music and have the students move to the music. When the music has ended, have the students write a poem about how it felt to move to the music.
Black Man Walking
I
saw a Black Man walking
in Old Orleans,
In a day when it wasn't fashionable
to be black.
His body was twisted and bent out of shape,
And I noticed as he shuffled along,
that his feet didn't keep beat with the street.
When I stopped and asked him what he minded most,
(an arrogant assumption that he minded both),
He stood as tall as his frame would allow...
"No Ma'am, I don't mind being a Black Man,
And I don't mind this old body being twisted,
And beat out of shape, but I sure hates livin' in a city
Where Jazz is the King, and my feet won't keep
the beat of the street.
Yes, I sure hates livin' in a city where Jazz is the King,
and my feet won't keep beat with the street."
Awed by his countenance,
I felt a deep loss.
For I of fair skin and freedom of movement,
Had Never..
No Never...
Felt the beat of the street.
I live in this city,
Where Jazz is the King,
And I never have felt
The beat of the street.
Oh, Life's never fair, as it deals out our fate-
But, are some refined and others defeated?
If the truth were known, we're all
Winners,
Losers;
And, who can know the strength of the straw?
Oh, how did I find favor in the eyes of a God,
To meet the Black Mass of Bourbon Street
Who had conquered a complex of faces.
In the end...would his love of the Jazz defeat him?
I see him as then, as he ambled away-
Truth revealed, if only he knew it.
He was the King, not the Jazz, or the beat...
But, the Black Man of Bourbon Street.
Betty Swain Wyeth
http://www.poemhunter.com/p/m/poem.asp?poem=18640
Activity Three
Jazz Art
The purpose of this activity is for students to create a work of art that captures an essence of jazz.
1. Share with the class some of the “jazz art”on the All About Jazz website. Make sure that some of the pieces of art that you share with your students are abstract in nature.
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/art.htm
2. Tell students that they are going to create a piece of improvisational jazz art.
3. Divide the class into groups of three or four students. Pass out at least five pieces of
8.5 X 11paper to each group (this paper may be colored or plain) and one larger piece of construction paper.
4. Explain to students that they are going to draw pictures of jazz instruments and jazz musicians playing instruments on the five 8.5 X 11 pieces of paper. Tell them that they are going to draw these people and instruments in an unusual way. Ask them to begin by folding the 8.5 X 11 pieces of paper into thirds. It doesn’t matter if the paper is folded lengthwise, crosswise or a combination of the two. Explain to students that the image is going to be drawn in three parts. Tell students that one person will draw the top third of the image. After they have finished drawing, they will fold over what they drew so that the next person can’t see what they drew and hand it to the second person. This person will draw the middle of the image, fold it over and hand it to the last person who will draw the bottom of the image. Ask the students to decide what images they will draw on these sheets of paper before they begin drawing. After the students have finished drawing the images, they will unfold the paper, cut out the images, and arrange and glue them on the larger sheet of paper to create an abstract work of art. Students may use paint, markers, chalk, colored pencils, etc. to color their work. Students may also consider incorporating the use of glitter, sand, toothpicks, pipe cleaners, feathers, straws and other items in the creation of their work.
5. Ask students to title their work and display the work in the classroom.
Extension Ideas
Oral History Project
Have your students take part in the Jazz Oral History Project sponsored by MENC and the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. See the "Jazz In Your Community" Oral History Project Extension. Also go to the Smithsonian Jazz Appreciation Month Site for FAQ and audio and video excerpts from oral histories.
Learn More About Jazz
Visit the PBS Kids’ Jazz site to learn more about jazz.
Read About Jazz
Share these books with your class.
The First Book of Jazz. Hughes, Langston (1982), Hopewell, NJ.: Ecco
Press.
The Blues Singers: Ten Who Rocked the World Lester, Julius (2001).
New York: Hyperion Books for Children
Charlie Parker Played Bebop Rascha, Chris (1992). New York:
Orchard Books
Ben’s Trumpet Isadora, Rachel (1979). New York: Greenwillow Books
The Jazz of Our Street Shaik, Fatima (1998). New York: Dial Books
Rent Party Jazz Miller, William and Charlotte Riley-Webb (2001). New York: Lee & Low Books
Ella Fitzgerald : The Tale of a Vocal Virtuosa Pinkney, Davis Andrea (2002). New York: Jump Sun
If I Only Had a Horn : Young Louis Armstrong Orgill, Roxane (1997). New York: Houghton Mifflin
Satchmo's Blues Schroeder, Alan Reprint edition (1999). New York: Dragonfly Books
John Coltrane's Giant Steps Raschka, Chris (2002). New York: Richard Jackson Books
The Jazz Fly Gollub, Matthew (2000). California: Tortuga Press
Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra Pinkney, Andrea Davis (1998). New York: Jump Sun
STANDARDS
California Visual and Performing Arts Standards http://www.cde.ca.gov/standards/
Kindergarten
4.0 AESTHETIC VALUING
Responding to, Analyzing, and Making Judgments About Works of Music
Students critically assess and derive meaning from works of music and the performance of musicians according to the elements of music, aesthetic qualities, and human responses.
Derive Meaning
4.1 Create movements that correspond to specific music.
4.2 Identify, talk about, sing, or play music written for specific purposes
(e.g., work song, lullaby).
Grade 1
3.0 HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT
Understanding the Historical Contributions and Cultural Dimensions of Music
Students analyze the role of music in past and present cultures throughout the world, noting cultural diversity as it relates to music, musicians, and composers.
3.4 Use developmentally appropriate movements in responding to music from various genres, periods, and styles (rhythm, melody, form).
4.0 AESTHETIC VALUING
Responding to, Analyzing, and Making Judgments About Works of Music
Students critically assess and derive meaning from works of music and the performance of musicians according to the elements of music, aesthetic qualities, and human responses.
Derive Meaning
4.2 Describe how ideas or moods are communicated through music.
Grade 2
3.0 HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT
Understanding the Historical Contributions and Cultural Dimensions of Music
Students analyze the role of music in past and present cultures throughout the world, noting cultural diversity as it relates to music, musicians, and composers.
Role of Music
3.1 Identify the uses of specific music in daily or special events.
Diversity of Music
3.2 Sing simple songs and play singing games from various cultures.
3.3 Describe music from various cultures.
4.0 AESTHETIC VALUING
Responding to, Analyzing, and Making Judgments About Works of Music
Students critically assess and derive meaning from works of music and the performance of musicians according to the elements of music, aesthetic qualities, and human responses.
4.4 Respond to a live performance with appropriate audience behavior.
5.0 CONNECTIONS, RELATIONSHIPS,
APPLICATIONS
Connecting and Applying What Is Learned in Music to Learning in Other Art Forms
and Subject Areas and to Careers
Students apply what they learn in music across subject areas. They develop competencies and creative skills in problem solving, communication, and management of time and resources that contribute to lifelong learning and career skills. They also learn about careers in and related to music.
Careers and Career-Related Skills
5.2 Identify and discuss who composes and performs music.
Grade 3
3.0 HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT
Understanding the Historical Contributions and Cultural Dimensions of Music
Students analyze the role of music in past and present cultures throughout the world, noting cultural diversity as it relates to music, musicians, and composers.
4.0 AESTHETIC VALUING
Responding to, Analyzing, and Making Judgments About Works of Music
Students critically assess and derive meaning from works of music and the performance of musicians according to the elements of music, aesthetic qualities, and human responses.
Derive Meaning
4.3 Describe how specific musical elements communicate particular ideas or
moods in music.
Grade 4
3.0 HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT
Understanding the Historical Contributions and Cultural Dimensions of Music
Students analyze the role of music in past and present cultures throughout the world, noting cultural diversity as it relates to music, musicians, and composers.
Role of Music
3.1 Explain the relationship between music and events in history.
Grade 5
1.0 ARTISTIC PERCEPTION
Processing, Analyzing, and Responding to Sensory Information Through the
Language and Skills Unique to Music
Students read, notate, listen to, analyze, and describe music and other aural information, using the terminology of music.
Listen to, Analyze, and Describe
Music
1.5 Identify vocal and instrumental ensembles from a variety of genres and
cultures.
3.0 HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT
Understanding the Historical Contributions and Cultural Dimensions of Music
Students analyze the role of music in past and present cultures throughout the world, noting cultural diversity as it relates to music, musicians, and composers.
Role of Music
3.1 Describe the social functions of a variety of musical forms from various
cultures and periods (e.g., folk songs, dances).
Diversity of Music
3.2 Identify different or similar uses of musical elements in music from
diverse cultures.
3.3 Sing and play music from diverse cultures and periods.
3.4 Describe the influence of various cultures and historical events on musical
forms and styles.